ALERT Tigerair Australia pilots plan industrial action this weekend

Tigerair passengers are being warned of possible industrial action by pilots between 4 May and 6 May.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots and the Virgin Independent Pilots Association represent 80% of Tigerair pilots. The 2 unions say the protected industrial action will take place unless there is a breakthrough in pay negotiations that have been ongoing for the last 12 months.

The protected industrial action would see union members refuse to fly aircraft that have allowable defects and pilots not flying outside of their published roster.

Tigerair says it has plans to minimise any disruption, such as moving passengers onto flights operated by parent airline Virgin Australia. Tigerair has told customers they should still go to the airport as normal for their flights, unless advised by airline

Australian Federation of Air Pilots press release on it’s website in full:

Pilots at Tigerair have given notice that protected industrial action will commence Friday 4 May, unless a deal is reached in negotiations this week.

If industrial action commences, it could result in flight delays and cancellations this weekend.

The airline operates routes to all Capital cities, as well as a number of tourist destinations throughout Australia.

Simon Lutton, Executive Director of the AFAP, says “after more than 12 months of negotiations, the decision to take protected industrial action was not made lightly.”

“Tigerair pilots fly the same aircraft as their counterparts at Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas, however this is not reflected in their employment conditions. The current agreement is well below industry standards, both in terms of pay and work-life balance. Tigerair pilots are simply looking for a fair deal.”

“The Company is not only refusing to provide basic employment conditions that are standard in the industry, they are also insisting on substantial cuts to conditions to justify salary increases.”

“We have chosen not to exercise our right to a complete stoppage of work, instead we have limited the actions to not working outside a pilot’s published roster, and not operating an aircraft until all allowable defects have been resolved. Given the possible disruptions, we even provided Tigerair with 4 days’ more notice than legally required, to put in place contingencies.”

The industrial action is scheduled to commence at 6.00am on Friday 4 May, and will run until 11.59pm on Sunday 6 May, however if Tigerair make a reasonable offer at the scheduled meetings on 1 and 2 May, the AFAP has the option to withdraw these actions.

Tigerair’s press release on it’s website in full:

Customers with bookings for travel this weekend should plan to arrive for their flights as scheduled unless otherwise notified by Tigerair Australia.

Tigerair has contingency plans in place to minimise any disruption associated with the potential impact of Planned Industrial Action between Friday 4 May and Sunday 6 May.

Tigerair provides the following advice to customers travelling this weekend:

If any change should be made to your flight, we will be in contact as soon as possible by SMS/email with your options, including reacommodation on another Tigerair Australia or Virgin Australia service wherever possible. We have a commercial policy in place to support any affected customers.

If you booked through a travel agent, please contact them directly for further assistance [and check that they have given Tigerair Australia your contact details].

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